Releasing Melodies
by Snow Girl579
Summary: Amira Williams is an American transfer student to Ouran High School. What will happen when she meets the members of the Host Club and is invited to play as their pianist? Rated M for eventual mature language and content; eventual Hikaru x OC
1. A New Pianist!

Amira stood in front of her new school, gazing up at the massive building. It was more than double the size of where she used to attend. She sighed, straightening the bow around the collar of her bright yellow dress before walking in to begin her day.

When she arrived at the classroom, no one seemed to notice her presence, or even that she was new. If they did, they just didn't care. She immediately felt more at ease, praying that she would get on with her day and not be questioned a million times about the move to Japan. Her dad, stepmom, stepbrother, and her all moved across the world from the United States to Japan. Her step mom was originally from Japan and wanted to move back home to be closer to her family. Of course, her father decided it was the right decision and completely ignored how this would affect his only daughter.

The school bell rang, pulling Amira out of her thoughts. She glanced around the room as her classmates scattered to their seats. A sea of yellow and blue uniforms filled the room except for one lone person dressed in a sweater and khakis seated at the front row. Tousled brown hair sat atop their head and Amira tried to lean over to see their face, but they never turned around. She smiled to herself, amazed at their bravery to go against the school's dress code. Although she hated the gross yellow dress she had on, she still wore it to blend in with the rest of the student body. She made a mental note to talk to this person after class and introduce herself.

—-

The bell rang to signify the ending of class and the beginning of lunch.

Amira walked over to the brave stranger and smiled warmly at them, "Hey! I'm Amira Williams; I'm new here and I wanted to know how you get away without wearing the uniform."

The other person looked up at her blankly, "I'm Haruhi Fujioka. I can't afford the uniform, I got here on a scholarship." Amira's eyes widened, embarrassed and worried that she had offended Haruhi.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I had no idea. I honestly just thought it was admirable because I really hate this stupid thing," she looked down, tugging at the dress and grimacing.

"Yeah, they look uncomfortable, and they are pretty hideous," Haruhi smiled and both girls laughed, "Are you from America? You have a pretty thick accent."

"Yep. My family relocated because my stepmom is originally from here. She went to Ouran as a kid and wanted her son to come here for middle school and have all of us be closer to her parents. We've came here for vacation every summer for the past few years so we all already spoke the language pretty fluently," Amira's eyes darkened at the mention of her family, and her smile faded.

"Wow, I can't imagine how different it must be," Haruhi gaped. The girls continued talking about their cultural differences while walking down to the lunch room, Haruhi carrying a box lunch and Amira planning to buy lunch. They sat alone at a table, everyone seemed to already be a part of a group of friends except them. Amira immediately became grateful to have met Haruhi on the first day; she made lunch much more enjoyable than it would've been had she been alone.

—

The next day, Amira came to class hoping to sit next to Haruhi. However, she noticed a pair of red headed and rather attractive male twins sitting on either side of her. Both looked thoroughly engrossed in Haruhi, while she just stared awkwardly down at her desk.

_Of course, _Amira thought, _the one friend I made already replaced me._ She narrowed her eyes at the trio and began walking across the classroom to a seat in the back.

"Amira!" Haruhi called to her, "Do you want to sit together?" She picked up all of her stuff and abandoned the twins to stand next to Amira.

"Um.. Sure?" Amira answered, glancing over at the now clearly annoyed pair of twins. The two girls sat next to each other in the front row while the twins moved once again to be on Haruhi's other side.

Amira leaned into Haruhi and whispered, "So.. who are they?"

"It's kind of a long story. Basically, I just met them yesterday at a club they're a part of. They just like teasing me," The boys grinned wickedly and looked over at Amira.

"I'm Hikaru," One introduced himself.

"I'm Kaoru," The other smiled.

"We're the Hitachiin twins!" They both said at the same time. It seemed that some of the girls in the classroom were watching the twins intently, hanging on to their every word. Amira rolled her eyes at this. They were handsome, but they literally hadn't done _anything_ to warrant that kind of a response from their classmates. Plus, why were they speaking at the same time? They were past the age of being annoying twins, usually twins at this age would try to look different from each other, not be the same person as one another.

"I'm Amira. I'm new here." She replied shortly.

"A-mi-ra?" Kaoru sounded out the foreign name, tilting his head at her.

"Where are you from?" Hikaru asked.

"America; leave her alone guys." Haruhi answered for her. Amira internally thanked her, smiling over at her. The twins rolled their eyes and turned to talk to each other. Except, their version of talking to each other seemed to be holding each other and whispering their sweet nothings. Of course, all the females in the room swooned at the brotherly love. Amira and Haruhi ignored them and chose to talk to each other instead. Soon enough, the bell rang to indicate class was starting.

The rest of the day passed by quickly, and eventually Amira had found herself a routine. Her mornings started the same, sitting by Haruhi and the twins. Lunch soon became sitting in the classroom with Haruhi, sharing her box lunch. Then, class again until she went home for the day. The next few days flew by. Until one morning, things were different.

—

Amira entered the classroom as usual, walking over to her usual seat. Haruhi sat in her seat, but looked entirely different; her hair was groomed and styled, she had on contacts, and she wore a men's uniform.

"Haruhi, why are you in a suit?" Amira asked, incredibly confused as soon as she sat down. She had known Haruhi was a girl from the moment she met her. She thought Haruhi's facial structure was way too feminine for her to ever pass as a male.

"It's kind of complicated," Haruhi answered, leaning in to whisper, "Basically, the whole school thinks I'm a guy. I'm okay with it, because I don't really think it matters what gender a person is." Amira was absolutely shocked that Haruhi was just fine with that. She imagined herself dressed in the suit and laughed at the idea. Her long, dark red hair and curvaceous body would never pass as anything but feminine. Not only that, but she couldn't imagine having to pretend to be someone she's not.

"Um.. is everything okay?" Amira asked, concerned that Haruhi had gotten involved in something bad.

"Yeah, I can explain it all to you later. Just try to keep the secret for me please, it will help me out a lot," Haruhi begged, meeting her eyes. Amira nodded, noting how beautiful Haruhi actually was. She had a natural beauty, unlike most other girls their age who hid themselves behind layers of makeup. Amira herself opted for a natural approach, like Haruhi.

As soon as the Hitachiin twins walked in, they flocked to the two girls.

"Haruhi-kun!" One said.

"Ami-san!" The other said. Amira raised her eyebrow at that, already annoyed at the nickname they had given her. She still had yet to figure out which twin was which and didn't bother to try, as she didn't care for the two boys.

"Hey guys," Haruhi replied, smiling sweetly at them.

"Haruhi, are you excited for your first day at the club?" One of the twins asked.

"I think you'll do great," The other added on.

Haruhi sighed, "I don't know what I'm doing, I don't really think it's going to work out."

"Wait, what's happening?" Amira asked, worried about her friend.

"Haruhi didn't tell you?" A twin asked. Amira shook her head in response, looking over at Haruhi, who said nothing.

"He's joining our host club! He's going to be a host!" Both twins exclaimed. Amira sat there, confused. Host clubs didn't exist in America and she wondered to herself if it was some sort of customer service industry.

"Um.. what's a host club?" She asked.

The twins smiled devilishly at her, "You don't know?" She shook her head once more.

"Basically it's where girls pay guys to entertain them. Usually the guys fit into certain stereotypes to fit whatever type of person the girl is looking for." Haruhi answered quickly, not giving the twins a second to say anything more.

"They entertain girls? Like how?" Amira asked, growing more and more worried by the second. If Haruhi was prostituting herself to stay at Ouran, then something needed to be done.

"Like by talking to them. Some guys flirt with them, others will just eat with them and be themselves. Hikaru and Kaoru here flirt with each other." Haruhi replied. It all made sense now; the girls in the classroom were so infatuated with the brothers because of the club. And Haruhi wasn't going to be doing anything dangerous, just talking to high school girls.

One of the twins smiled at her and walked over to tilt her chin up to look at him, "You should come visit us at the club." Amira felt her cheeks flush and turned her head the other way to look back at Haruhi who just looked annoyed.

"Hikaru, I thought I was the only one you wanted to see," The other twin, who Amira now knew was Kaoru, whined, "Why do you want her to come?"

Hikaru turned to his brother and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him in closely and caressing his cheek with his free hand, "Kaoru… You know how I love an audience. You're the only one for me, I swear."

The girls in the classroom squealed and Amira's cheeks reddened further. The fact that they were brothers made it kind of gross, but she was also a little appreciative at the sight of two hot guys holding each other.

"If you want to come tonight, you're welcome to. It's Music Room 3, and we meet at 4." Haruhi changed the subject, getting Amira's attention off the brothers.

"Oh, um.. sure? Will it be weird if I just hang out with you the whole time?" Amira asked.

Haruhi laughed, "No, of course not. It's my first night as a host so I need all the support I can get."

"I'll go, but only if you promise to tell me why exactly you're doing this when you're not actually, well, you know," Amira flicked her eyes at other people in the classroom, indicating that she was mentioning Haruhi's secret.

"Sure, I can tell you afterwards. Most of the guys know already anyways!" Haruhi smiled at her.

—

The school day ended at 3pm, an hour before Haruhi said the club started. Yet, since it was only the first week of school, Amira had no homework to work on and nothing to do for that hour. She decided to go straight to the club, hoping that Haruhi would be there early, too. However, when she opened the doors of the music room, she found that the lights were off and no one was present. She debated leaving the room, but decided against it when she spotted a grand piano tucked away in the corner of the room.

She hadn't played one since her family's move to Japan. Her mother used to be a piano teacher and taught her from a young age. Amira became incredibly talented by the time she reached the end of middle school. She won several competitions and hoped to one day be a performer. After her mother passed, Amira quit piano for a year. Her father got rid of all remnants of her mother in their house, including the pianos, keyboards, and sheet music. Eventually, Amira's friends convinced her to continue playing as an accompanist for their school's ensemble, so her talent wouldn't go to waste. Yet, it had been months since she last played a single note.

Amira strolled over to the piano, transfixed by the light shining across it's polished surface. She sat down on its bench, lifting up the keylid. She held her hands in place, gently touching the keys, but making no sound. She took a sharp breath in and began playing, fingers flying across the keys.

Melody streamed through the air. She was playing _Winter Wind _by Chopin_,_ her mother's favorite piece and the last solo piece she performed before her mother's death. All thoughts fled from her mind as she closed her eyes and felt the music course through her. As she reached the closing notes, she felt tears begin streaming down her cheeks, one by one. Memories of her mother and previous performances began filling her head, distracting her from reality.

Slow claps filled the air, then a handful of other claps joined in. Amira spun around, eyes alight with a mixture of fear and melancholy.

"My, my, princess," A tall blonde man strode over to her, "I'm not sure which is more beautiful, you or your music. I do have to say, you've taken my breath away." He smiled and bowed at her. She felt her cheeks redden and glanced up at the group of people standing behind him. She recognized Haruhi, Kaoru, and Hikaru. Besides that, she noted two tall men with black hair, one with glasses and one without, and a short blonde boy who looked like he belonged in elementary school.

Amira quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks and stood up, "I'm so sorry, I was looking for Haruhi and I just got distracted, I don't even know what I was doing, I just lost focus and got wrapped up in my thoughts and-"

The tall blonde man quieted her by wrapping his arm around her waist and caressing her cheek, "Princess, it's quite alright. I don't believe we've met before, are you a new guest?" Amira felt her face redden entirely, at a loss for words due to the sudden contact.

"Senpai, please stop, this is my friend, Amira Williams." Haruhi tugged at the blonde's elbow.

He glanced back at her before letting go of Amira and bowing at her once again, "My apologies, dear girl. I am Tamaki Suoh, leader of the host club."

"Amira, where did you learn how to play like that?" One of the twins, Amira guessed it was Kaoru by his slightly higher pitched voice, asked.

"At home," she replied curtly while staring daggers at them, unsure of what it was about the twins that pissed her off so much.

"Ami-chan!" The little blonde boy ran up to her and hugged her, "That was so amazing, you were so cool!"

"Um.. thanks?" Amira flicked her eyes over to Haruhi and then back at the boy who was hugging her.

"That's Honey-Senpai. He's a third year." Haruhi answered, smiling slightly, "The other two are Mori-Senpai and Kyoya-Senpai." She indicated at the two boys standing further back in the room. Mori nodded at her, moving his eyes back to Honey, who walked back over to him and climbed onto his shoulders. Kyoya met her eyes and remained expressionless before taking his attention back to the notebook in his hands.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all, I'm sorry for coming into your club unannounced." Amira smiled and bowed her head slightly at all of them.

"My lady," Tamaki stepped forward and grabbed her hand, "We would love for you to stay and catch a glimpse of all of our personalities in action. I would love to learn more about you and see what other talents your beauty seeps into."

Amira blushed, "Thank you, but I'm actually just here for Haruhi. She-" she paused, realizing what she had just said, "HE is my friend and I wanted to support him on his first day as a host." Haruhi along with all of the hosts besides Tamaki paled at the slip up.

Tamaki, however, seemed not to notice, "How kind! Haruhi! I'm so happy you have such a strong support system!" He ran to envelope the girl in a hug. Amira immediately wondered if this man knew Haruhi's secret.

"Thank you, Senpai," Haruhi replied into his chest, squished by the hug.

"Are you sure you don't want to," Hikaru appeared at Amira's side, linking his arm into hers.

"Spend your time with us?" Kaoru appeared at her other side, copying Hikaru's action. Amira began noticing little differences between the twins and subtleties that indicated who was who. Hikaru had a deeper tone of voice and tended to lead their actions. Kaoru seemed to put more emotion into things.

"No, please let go of me." Amira replied, annoyed, and tugged her arms away from the twins who cackled at her.

"It's almost four everyone. Get into your places." Kyoya commanded from the corner. Amira looked up at him, shocked, as he hadn't spoken to her yet.

"Amira, please come speak to me in the back room while they greet our guests." Kyoya stated, briskly walking away.

"Uh oh!" The twins both sang out, laughing. Amira rolled her eyes and followed Kyoya into a separate room.

"Hi.." Amira awkwardly greeted as she walked into the room. Kyoya looked her up and down, the way a predator sizes up its prey before attacking. She immediately shuddered in fear. What was with this guy?

"Please close the door behind you," she walked over and did as she was asked before he continued on, "Thank you. Now, I'm just going to cut to the chase. You know Haruhi's secret, and that's a problem. Only club members know about her true gender, and we can't have that getting out to the student body. If she is as successful with guests as I am predicting she will be, I can't lose the assets she will bring to this club." Amira shifted awkwardly and nodded at him. He stared at her, awaiting a response.

"Yeah, well, I wasn't planning on telling anyone anyways, she asked me not to," She replied.

"I wish I could say that I trust you, but I would prefer to not risk it. I have two offers for you. One is that you can access the host club's special services for free. You will be served by the hosts before anyone else and have special first priority access to any of our events or auctions."

"I wasn't planning on coming to the club after today anyways. I'm only here to be with Haruhi." Amira laughed at the uselessness of that offer.

"Then that brings us to my second proposition. You can be the host club's pianist. Our guests would enjoy light music, which would benefit the club. What you played today would not be prohibited. I assume you understand what I mean when I say simply background music." Kyoya said seriously, meeting her eyes. Amira's smile melted into shock. She realized today how much she missed music, but playing as a background pianist was never her goal.

"With that being said, we do have events. We have a dance coming up at the end of the month. You are welcome to perform as a soloist with orchestral accompaniment at the event if you decide to join our club. We will not be paying you, as it is a school club and even the hosts do not receive any income. However, we will invite you to events along with our hosts in the future if we decide to go on any trips this year," Kyoya continued on, as though he was reading her thoughts.

"A soloist? Orchestral accompaniment? Y-yes, sure, that sounds amazing!" Amira smiled, eyes shining. She could bring music back into her life as a daily event. Even as a background pianist, she could still gain experience and practice techniques. This would be perfect.

"Very well. Then spend your time today acquiring music. Let me know if you need help purchasing or finding any pieces. Tomorrow will be your first day as the club's pianist," He glanced over at her, a hint of a smile on his face, "Also, you will be expected to participate in _all_ club activities. We occasionally will wear costumes and you are considered to be part of the club, so you must follow suit."

She nodded, "Of course. Thank you, Ootori-Senpai! I promise to do my best!" She bowed at him. He gave her a small smile and walked out the door of the room. Amira was really looking forward to playing for the club tomorrow!

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first fanfiction I actually have a plan for. I know exactly where it's going and how it's going to get there :) Please review and let me know what you think so I will know that it's worth it to pursue this story!

I absolutely love Amira and have plans for strengthening her personality and including more interactions with the rest of the hosts. This chapter may have felt a little drawn out, but I wanted to write a more realistic OC and a way to introduce her to the hosts. In a lot of other Ouran fanfics I've read, the OC was just added in to mirror Haruhi in a way. I wanted to create my own individual character with an original role in the story, rather than just create a second Haruhi. I've also noticed that most OCs are very tomboy-ish and similar to each other, so hopefully you guys will enjoy Amira's distinctness just as much as I do.

Also, each chapter after this will just feature a single episode at a time. This chapter was just an introduction to Amira so please bear with me! Since my story will be revolving around Amira, I will definitely be changing things up from the original story, but not to a great extent. It still will follow the original timeline of the anime and manga. Thank you for reading and for your time, I hope you will all enjoy this story!


	2. Jealous Princess

Chapter 2: Jealous Princess

"Welcome!" The hosts said in unison, standing in front of the doors to the music room. A swarm of girls flooded the room, swooning and squealing in delight. They all seemed to be excitedly whispering about the new host, hoping to catch a glimpse of Haruhi and learn her personality. Yesterday, Haruhi's first day as a host went smoothly, as Amira was able to stick by her side while pretending to be a guest and help keep the conversation between her and her guests flowing whenever they hit a moment of silence. However, today was Amira's first day as club pianist, so Haruhi had to face the guests on her own. Already dubbed the natural type, Haruhi was expected to handle it perfectly. Amira, on the other hand, felt incredibly nervous to be playing again. While she could easily play the simple songs she had selected, she still hadn't played for anyone in almost a year.

"Good afternoon princesses," Tamaki smiled flirtatiously at them, bowing, "Today, we have a lovely surprise for you." The girls seemed to hang off of his every word, listening intently in awed silence.

"Our goal is to entertain you and bring joy to your days," Kyoya smiled coolly, "In an effort to improve the atmosphere of our club, we have hired a new pianist. Everyone, please welcome Amira Williams to the host club." He gestured over to Amira and all of the girls turned to stare at her. Some looked excited, others simply looked jealous of a girl getting to be a part of the host club.

"H-hello everyone," Amira felt her face flush, not expecting to have to speak to the room, "I hope I can create music that we all can enjoy together. Please let me know if you have any requests for music; I only wish to make all of you as happy as I can." She bowed at the girls, who immediately smiled and clapped in response. She felt more relieved and hoped she wouldn't be disrupting their experience at the club. Truthfully, she could care less about making anyone in that room happy; she simply wanted a chance to practice piano without interruption, since playing at home was not an option with her father's strict rules. If she upset any of the girls by being there, then the hosts would want her to leave and thus she wouldn't be able to continue playing. Therefore, she had to find a middle ground in order to appease the guests while still keeping to herself.

As the hosts scattered to their seats, Amira walked to the newly polished grand piano and took a seat at the bench, setting up her music on its stand. She took a deep breath and looked around, smiling nervously. Everyone seemed to be already focusing on something or someone else except Haruhi, who made eye contact with her and smiled brightly. Amira nodded to her and turned to face the keys before taking a deep breath and beginning to play. She chose a soft, gentle song to start, and her fingers glided across the keys effortlessly. The room quieted down briefly as she began, but they soon returned to their previous conversations. This soothed the tension in Amira's gut, as fewer people paying attention would mean fewer people to notice if she made any errors.

Amira played through a few more songs before pausing to take a break. She got up to get a drink but paused on her way back to the piano when she heard a loud squeal from Tamaki.

"Haruhi! That was so cute!" He embraced Haruhi in a tight hug, spinning her around in excitement, while his guest sat awkwardly on the couch, staring in disbelief and jealousy.

"Mori-Senpai!" Haruhi squeaked out, "Please help me!" Mori shot out of his seat in a flash and immediately lifted Haruhi up out of Tamaki's arms effortlessly. Amira watched in disbelief at his strength- how had he managed to lift her up without strain?

"Mori-Senpai, you didn't need to go that far…" Tamaki stood in shock, blushing slightly, "Come on, Haruhi! Come back to your daddy!" Haruhi protested and Amira smiled at the interaction between the pair. Tamaki was cute and clearly seemed to throw his heart into things without care, as he had only _just_ met Haruhi the other day. Yet, behind Haruhi and Tamaki sat a glaring Seika Ayanokoji. Amira took note of her angry expression and laughed quietly to herself. How in the world could someone be jealous over that? It wasn't like Seika even knew the real Tamaki, just the flirtatious man who made it his job to entertain women. And either way, since the guests believed Haruhi was a boy, there wasn't anything to even be jealous of. She rolled her eyes at the girl and strolled over to her piano, where she continued playing.

"Ami-chan," A voice whispered in her left ear, making her jump and hit a chord much harder than intended, creating a loud, harsh, sound. She frowned corrected herself, continuing to play her song without any other error.

"Ami-chan," Another voice whispered in her right ear. However, she had been expecting that and continued playing flawlessly. Hands grabbed her arms from both sides and the twins stood on both sides of her, smirking down at her.

"What do you two want?" She glared at them. They were nothing more than a disturbance. Their label as the little devil type was surprisingly accurate.

"We're bored," They replied in unison.

"And what do you want me to do about that?" She huffed, glancing back and forth to look at both of them.

"Entertain us!" They both grinned cheekily. She rolled her eyes, turning to face the keyboard again.

"Come on Ami-chan, tell us stories about America! Is it true that everyone is overweight?" Hikaru smirked at her, tugging her arm away from the piano.

"Stop calling me Ami-chan and please go away." She responded shortly, pulling her arm out of his grip.

"You're no fun," Kaoru smiled and the twins laughed together before walking away. She rolled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day before continuing to play, choosing to skip to the next song rather than continue from where she left off.

-The next day-

"Huh? My bag is gone," Haruhi stated, walking over to her desk.

"Are you sure you left it in here? It's not like anyone would've taken it. They're too rich to steal here," Amira chuckled, looking around the classroom.

Haruhi strolled over to the window, "Found it," she pointed down at the fountain, "Oh, man, I didn't think they had bullying here,"

"What?" Amira ran over to the window, staring in shock at the sight of the contents of Haruhi's bag floating freely in the water, "I don't understand why anyone would want to bully you in the first place… You're too innocent and I don't think I've heard you say a single rude thing about anyone."

"Who cares _why_ they did it, I have to get my stuff! My wallet is in there, it has all of my lunch money for the week!" Haruhi almost shouted, sprinting out of the room.

"Hey, wait up!" Amira followed her, huffing and wishing she wasn't in the stupid yellow dress. She hiked up the dress above her knees, running to catch up to Haruhi, who paused after passing Seika Ayanokoji, making Amira nearly slam into Haruhi's back.

"Oh, it's you two," Seika stated, "How nice of Tamaki-kun to tidy you up, Haruhi. While you're at it, why don't you correct your poor upbringing?" She began to walk away.

"Poor upbringing? Says the girl who just harassed another student! Hey, maybe you should try to find a lover you don't have to pay in order to get their attention!" Amira called back to Seika, who simply ignored her and continued walking, "Screw her. Ignore her, Haruhi, she doesn't know what she's talking about."

"Come on, let's go," Haruhi said quietly, walking away at a slower pace.

"Are you okay? Ugh, I can't wait to tell the guys about this. They won't let her back in the club, Haruhi, I promise."

"No, I'm fine. Let her be. I don't really care, anyways, I just need to find my wallet. Let's not stoop to her level." Amira glanced at Haruhi, who held a neutral expression. She chose to remain silent for the rest of the walk down, hoping that Haruhi was telling the truth.

After arriving at the fountain, the girls took off their shoes and left their belongings at the edge of the water. Haruhi rolled up her pants and began wading in the water, pulling out her belongings. Amira held her dress up with one hand, using the other to help grab Haruhi's things.

"You know, I can just buy your lunches. Or groceries, or whatever you need," Amira stated after all of Haruhi's things were recovered besides her wallet.

"Thanks, but no thanks. The last thing I want is to owe you or anyone else money. Plus, I want to be independent," Haruhi looked over at Amira and gave her a genuine smile. She nodded in return, continuing to search through the water.

"Hey, commoner and foreigner," Tamaki called out to the pair, standing at the edge of the water, "You've both got some nerve, skipping out on the club activities. And being alone together, a man and a woman, in the fountain? Do you two know what this looks like?" Amira rolled her eyes at this, not understanding how he still had no clue about Haruhi's true gender.

"Wait, why is your bag all wet?" Tamaki asked, glancing down at his feet.

"Seika-" Amira began, ready to tell him everything.

"I dropped it and all of my stuff fell out," Haruhi cut her off, glancing over at Amira with a dangerous glare, "I can't find my food money for this week." The girls heard a splash and both turned to see that Tamaki had also stepped into the water to help them.

"Senpai, it's okay, we can find it," Amira smiled at him, amazed once again at his kindness for someone he had only just met a few days ago.

"You'll get yourself all wet," Haruhi scolded, turning to face him.

"Getting wet won't do me any harm. After all, people always say that I'm dripping with good looks," He glanced up to smile at the girls. Amira grimaced at his narcissism while Haruhi just stared at him in awe.

"Oh! Is this it?" Tamaki reached down and pulled out a wallet before strolling over to Haruhi, "What's wrong? You're staring off into space! You haven't fallen for me, have you?" He taunted. Amira burst out into laughter beside them, making Haruhi snap back to reality.

"Who, me?" She snatched the wallet out of her hands and turned to glare at Amira.

"But still, how does this happen?" Tamaki said, glancing over at Haruhi's wet belonging sprawled out on the dry sidewalk.

"I dropped it out of the window when I was trying to get some fresh air," Haruhi explained, stepping out of the water and gathering up her things. Amira looked up at the window they previously stood at and noticed a female silhouette staring down at them. She stared up at the girl's face, straining to make out who it was until the figure turned and walked away.

The trio returned to the club, late, and received a quick scolding from Kyoya about the importance of club activities and the penalty for tardiness. Apparently, he would add to Haruhi's debt if it happened again. Things quickly returned to usual as Haruhi sat down with her guests and Amira played the piano. After some time, Seika sat down across from Haruhi at a table, alone. Amira paused after playing a song and looked over at Haruhi, trying to make eye contact with her, but Haruhi was too engrossed in their conversation to notice. She watched their interaction, wishing she was close enough to make out what they were saying.

Things escalated quickly. Seika pushed the table over, breaking the glass tea set that sat atop it. She knocked Haruhi out of her chair, pulling Haruhi on top of her in a malicious manner.

"Haruhi-kun!" Seika shrieked and the room went silent, "Haruhi-kun suddenly attacked me! Somebody, quick! Deal with this commoner!" Amira burst out of her chair, sprinting to the scene to rescue her friend. She nearly crashed into the twins, who darted out in front of her and both tossed a pot of tea over the pair on the ground. The room sat in silence, everyone staring at the commotion.

"W-what are you doing?" Seika glared at them and Tamaki walked over and helped her to her feet, "Tamaki! Haruhi assaulted me!" She whimpered, leaning into him.

He held an arm to her shoulder, holding her away from him, "How disgraceful," He muttered, shaking his head, "You're the one who threw Haruhi's bag in the pond, aren't you?"

"How can you say that? You have no proof!" Seika protested, her distressed expression melting into embarrassment and fear.

"We know it was you, _princess_," Amira spat, crossing her arms and glaring at her.

Tamaki held Seika's face in his hands, "You really are quite pretty, but you are not fit to be our guest. I know that Haruhi is not that kind of man."

"Y-you idiot! All of you! Idiots!" Seika cried and ran out of the room.

Amira's annoyed expression melted into a smirk, "Good riddance." The twins laughed and both placed an elbow on her shoulders. She frowned at the contact but quickly began to laugh along with them.

"Haruhi, you need to be punished for causing this kind of trouble to the club. Your quota is now increased to 1,000 requests!" Tamaki loomed overtop her.

"One t-thousand?" Haruhi cried in disbelief.

He helped her to her feet, "I'm expecting much from you; there is no doubt in my mind you can reach that since you are our natural rookie."

After the guests had all left, Kyoya gave Haruhi a spare uniform and led her to the changing room. Amira sat with the rest of the hosts in the main room, playing on her phone and waiting for Haruhi before they left for the night.  
"I'm going to bring him towels to dry off," Tamaki stated, standing up suddenly. The hosts all watched him walk off, no one responding to him.

"He still doesn't know, does he?" Amira asked.

"Nope! Tama-chan is in for a surprise." Honey said sweetly.

"I gave her a girl's uniform; that's all we had here. He had to find out sooner or later." Kyoya stated nonchalantly.

"The boss is a little dense sometimes," The twins shrugged. The hosts sat in silence, waiting for Tamaki's return.

"Do you guys want to go watch?" Amira suddenly stood up, turning back to look at the rest of the group. They all agreed and walked over to watch Tamaki walk into the dressing room and then walk out, face consumed in redness.

"H-Haruhi, you're a girl?" Tamaki mumbled, standing outside of the dressing room.

"Biologically, yes," She stated, before opening up the dressing room curtain and coming out in the female Ouran uniform, "But if you want to think of me as a boy, I'm okay with that. Honestly, I just think that being a boy or a girl doesn't matter as much as who you are as a person."

"This is quite the interesting development," Kyoya declared, a hint of a smile hiding in his lips.

"It sure is," The twins smirked at each other.

"Still, Senpai, you were really cool earlier. Thank you for the help!" Haruhi smiled sweetly at him. Tamaki's face turned a deeper shade of red and he began backing up.

"Tamaki, I don't think I've ever referred to Haruhi as 'he', I'm always slipping up and saying 'she', how did you not catch that?" Amira laughed.

"I figured you just didn't know your Japanese pronouns! What kind of American knows Japanese?" He whined, covering his face in his hands.

"Still, getting fussed at by a bunch of girls isn't actually all that bad. Oh, I know! From now on, I'll start referring to myself as 'ore'!" Haruhi smiled sweetly and giggled at the thought.

"Mama! Haruhi is using bad words!" Tamaki whined to Kyoya, still completely shocked at the new revelation.

"She can call herself whatever she wants. Besides, she's gotta play the part somehow," Amira smirked, standing beside Haruhi and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Maybe she could enjoy a bit more about this club than just the music. Perhaps this was the beginning to new friendships!

Hi guys! Chapter two is finally complete, and now I have to wake up in five hours… So wish me luck. I hope you guys liked it and my inclusion of Amira into the storyline. Thank you for everyone who favorited and followed my story, the only reason I'm updating this right now is for you guys3.

Also, "ore" in Japanese is a male pronoun, which is what Haruhi says at the end of this chapter and this episode. Tamaki freaks out because only boys are supposed to refer to themselves in this way :). I wasn't sure if this was common knowledge because I know I'd be super confused if I wasn't at least semi-familiar with the language. Anyways, the song I was listening to when I envisioned Amira's playing was Reaching by Cellophane Roses. It's really beautiful and light; it's a nice song to study or write to.

Thank you all so much for reading and for your support; as always, please leave me reviews so I can know how I'm doing and how to improve. Love ya guys!


	3. The Waltz

A/N: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for the delay in updating; I promise I haven't given up on this story! I've just been really busy with my school semester coming to a close. My updates may be really sporadic until my finals are over, which is going to be in three weeks. Anyways, I'm going to change this chapter up a little bit and switch to first-person POV. Let me know if you like/dislike it so I can know how to write the next chapter. I'm also willing to rewrite chapters one and two if first-person is preferred by a lot of people! As always, thanks for reading.

* * *

"Hey, uh, Amira?" Haruhi suddenly looked up from her textbook at me, slamming it shut. We had been studying after class in the library together before going over to the host club.

"Dude, I just don't think calculus is for me. I mean, this stuff makes no sense to me. It's like a foreign language. But harder; learning Japanese wasn't even close to this hard! But yeah, what's up?" I looked up from my book to meet her gaze.

"It's already four." She stated, eyes wide.

"Oh, shit, umm… Hurry up, let's run over there!" I spurted out and quickly stood up to gather all of my belongings. The host club met at four, which meant we were already late. We both sped down the halls to Music Room 3, where the club met. If I was late, I couldn't really be punished besides just being kicked out, since I just wanted to join the club to have a place to practice piano. Haruhi, on the other hand, was trying to pay off her debt and would probably have repercussions.

As soon as we got to the grand wooden doors of the music room, Haruhi slowly turned the handle to open the door and we both immediately froze as soon as we saw what was on the other side. A lush rainforest stood before us, complete with palm trees, grass, animals, and flowers. An overpowering rush of warm, humid air flooded our senses along with the strong smell of sweet flowers. Scattered across tree branches were a variety of exotic animals, such as toucans, chameleons, snakes, and tropical butterflies.

"Where are we?" Haruhi mumbled, glancing across the room with wide eyes.

"Welcome!" The hosts all chimed together, smiling at the pair of us. They were all adorned in tropical costumes, all scantily clad and still looking as handsome as ever. We both stood in silence, too awestruck to come up with a response.

"Oh, it's just you two," The twins said in unison, smirking at us, "You're late."

"I-I don't understand…" I rambled off, still looking around the room at the lush forest surrounding us, "It's the middle of April, why are we in the tropics?"

"It's not supposed to be this warm!" Haruhi complained.

Tamaki chuckled to himself, "Huddling under a kotatsu table, fearing the cold would be nonsense. Why else do we have this perfect heating and cooling system?" He spun around and gestured dramatically to our surroundings. I rolled my eyes at this, why did he always have to be _so _expressive?

"Do you have some sort of criticism of our club's policies? Haruhi-kun, you owe us a dept of 8 million yen. And Amira-san, you are more than welcome to leave our club anytime you'd like." Kyoya smiled darkly at us, flicking his eyes between us. Just his stare was enough to give me chills and I realized just how scary this man could be. Haruhi paled and Tamaki came to her rescue, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"It may be a chilling early spring out in the world, but in our club, we welcome our chilly, little kittens to a warm, south tropical aura!" He cooed to her, smiling brightly, "Yes! Today, this place is a supreme paradise, a hot, hot island of everlasting summer!"

"I, on the other hand, feel a chill in every sense of the word," Haruhi glared, pulling away from his grip. Hikaru and Kaoru flocked to either side of me, both wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Ami-chan, don't you think the warmth is just so nice?" Kaoru smiled at me, leaning down to rest his head against mine.

"And you have to admit, no lady wants to see a man all bundled up. Do you like our outfits?" Hikaru asked, pulling me in closer to his bare chest. Just then, I noticed what the twins were wearing: harem shorts with a loose wrap overtop, with blue bandanas tied around their heads. They were both shirtless, and truthfully it wasn't a bad sight to see. They had slim, toned bodies and I had to force myself to not stare and instead began to redden. This seemed to not go unnoticed, as both twins started to laugh, which made me grow frustrated.

"No, how do you expect me to play in this? The humidity is going to ruin the wood of any good piano, and not only that but the trees are completely impractical for the sound to travel in!" I complained, pulling myself away from the extremely tempting twins, who just stared amusedly at me during my rant.

"Amira-san, we have set up an electric keyboard for you to use. Surely that will be good enough for you in an area like this. We also have speakers spread out amongst the tables, so each guest will be able to hear the music regardless of where they are." Kyoya stated calmly, not bothering to look up at me.

"Oh, um… I guess that works," I mumbled, feeling slightly bad for assuming the worst. The hosts began to scatter to greet their guests and I made my way over to a piano in the corner of the room.

"Ami-chan!" Honey-senpai came out of nowhere, ran up to me, and grabbed my hand, "Play a happy song for me today, please!"

"Sure thing, Honey-senpai." I smiled down at him and almost melted as he gave his cute smile in return.

"You normally play such melancholy music," His smile quickly faded away to an expression of concern, "Why is your piano so sad?"

I paused for a moment in disbelief, then gathered myself and forced a smile back at him, "I'm not sure what you mean, Honey-senpai. I play a lot of different songs, a lot of them have happier melodies."

He didn't return my smile and instead shook his head, "They may have happy notes but the tone is way different," He paused for a moment, "Ami-chan, just try to let yourself smile for me, and then your piano will smile, too." I stared at him in utter shock. I had no idea Honey was even capable of such deep conversations. In reality, I knew that the way I played my piano was different from most. You can play a happy song but it will always carry your true feelings through your tone and the way your fingers press each note. Before my mom passed away, my music carried hints of childish innocence and pure bliss. After she passed, the notes faded to ones of mourning and loss. They weren't _empty_, they were filled with emotion, just not a very happy one. I didn't think it would be that obvious to hear, especially for someone so optimistic like Honey.

"I'm excited to hear you play today," He squeezed my hand and walked away. I watched him leave and then sat down to play. I was going to try my best to sound happier for him, but it's so hard to force an emotion that isn't actually there.

* * *

Later that day, after the host club had ended, Haruhi, the guys, and I all met in a neighboring room to discuss an upcoming dance that the club was planning. They had all changed out of their costumes and back into their regular school uniforms. Tamaki sulked in the corner of the room, upset that one of his regulars had chosen to be Haruhi's guest that day instead.

"Sir, stop eating commoner's ramen and help us with the party planning," Hikaru nagged Tamaki.

"Is Princess Kasuga taking a liking to Haruhi really bugging you that much?" Kaoru asked, both of them staring over at him.

"Her illness isn't something that just started, right?" Kyoya asked, without looking up from his laptop.

"Illness?" I asked, immediately expecting the worst.

"Wandering host-hopping disease," Hikaru answered, popping up at my side.

"Otherwise known as never-the-same-boy-twice disease," Kaoru finished for him, popping up on my other side.

"Usually, our guests designate the same hosts in perpetuity, but she seems to change her host on a regular basis," Kyoya explained, all the while continuing to type on his laptop.

"Up until now she was with Tama-chan, right?" Honey asked, glancing over at Tamaki.

"So that's why he's being like this," I nodded thoughtfully, glancing over at him. It made sense, the narcissistic man clearly couldn't handle being chosen second. I wondered if the fact that his guest chose Haruhi, a female, over him somehow made it even worse in his mind.

"That makes sense. He's just jealous," Haruhi nodded along with me, sighing.

"I am not! That is not why!" Tamaki came flying from across the room and shouted at her, "I'm at the limits of my patience, Haruhi! Start dressing like a girl! Why do you have to be so woefully talented with the girls when you yourself are a girl?!" I laughed quietly to myself at that; I knew it. Tamaki _was_ just jealous, and the fact that Haruhi was a girl was just making it worse. I started to tune their conversation out, closing my eyes, drumming my fingers across the table, and thinking of the music I would play tomorrow.

Suddenly, I heard shouting. I looked up to see Tamaki holding a picture of Haruhi and her scolding him for it.

"Where did you even get that? And you can't just go around blowing up people's pictures without their permission!" She shouted at him and reached to grab the photo from him. However, the rest of the hosts pushed past her and gathered around Tamaki to look at a more feminine version of Haruhi from middle school.

"Haruhi, how _did_ you go from that to this? I mean, you looked so girly in that picture," I asked her softly, looking up at her long, flowing hair and beautiful big eyes in the picture. Before the hosts changed her, she looked so unkempt to the point where I could see how people would think she was a guy.

"The day before the entrance exams, I had a kid from my neighborhood stick some gum in my hair. I didn't want to deal with trying to get it out, so I just cut it all off," she replied calmly, and the boys all turned around to look at her. Once again, she referred to herself with the Japanese male pronoun _ore_, which didn't get past Tamaki.

"Haruhi! Stop saying 'ore'_, _it is a dirty word for girls! I want you to go back to being my beautiful daughter!" Tamaki wailed.

"It's kind of impressive that you can be so cute as a girl but still handsome as a boy," I commented, smiling over at Haruhi.

"Well, thank you, and it's helpful because I can pay off my debt much faster as a host than as a club errand boy," she replied as Tamaki was still sobbing dramatically in the background.

"Speaking of, do you have any experience at social dances? It's essential for the party," Hikaru asked, referring to a club dance they would be hosting next week.

"What? Um, no, and it's not essential for my quota right?" Haruhi sputtered out, she clearly hadn't have thought about her going even being a possibility before.

"Social dances are a must for a gentleman. If you want to be a host so badly, then you must learn to dance and entertain!" Tamaki perked up immediately and declared dramatically, "If you cannot master the waltz in one week and demonstrate it at next week's party, then I will reveal to the school that you are a girl and you will be demoted to club errand boy!" Haruhi stood in silence, staring in shock at Tamaki, clearly at a loss for words.

"Well good luck Haruhi, I almost wish I could be there to see it!" I smiled over at her, knowing fully well that she'll be fine and has nothing to worry about. I assumed I wasn't invited to the dance since I wasn't a host and had no interest in dancing with them or interacting with them when they're putting on a show for guests. Their acts were starting to irritate me because I was realizing just how forced they all were.

"Actually, Amira, we're expecting you to go," Kyoya stated, flicking his eyes up from his laptop to meet mine for a brief second.

"What?" I stared at him, awaiting a response.

"You're going to dance with me, right Ami-chan?" Hikaru's husky voice whispered in my right ear and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"I'd love to see you in a ballgown," Kaoru whispered into my left ear, giving me shivers. These twins were absolutely infuriating.

I stomped away from them angrily and crossed my arms, "Why do I need to go when I'm not even a host?"

"Amira, I thought this would make you happy! Daddy just wants his daughters to love him!" Tamaki wailed again, running back into his corner.

"How would this make me happy?" I asked, glaring at each of the hosts.

"We wanted you to play at the dance as part of an orchestra briefly, but also as a soloist with accompaniment," Kyoya stated calmly, "This would be a chance for you to build your resume and to also practice your skills as a soloist."

"I don't get it, what's in it for you?" I stared at the man. There was no way he would just be doing something like this for me out of the kindness of his heart.

He glanced up at me and had the slightest smirk on his face, "It would save us money from having to hire a pianist,"

"Ami-chan, please?" Honey walked up to me and tugged on my hand, "Takashi and I want to hear your piano sound happier, right, Takashi?"

"Mm," Mori nodded in agreeance. I felt my cheeks redden because of the meaning behind his statement, and I noticed everyone in the room staring at me and awaiting my response. I wondered for a moment whether or not Honey had mentioned anything to the rest of the hosts.

"Um, s-sure. I'll do it, thank you guys so much," I said quietly, then let out a small smile.

"You're going to do amazing, Amira, trust me. We've both got a week to practice!" Haruhi smiled at me.

"AH! My daughters are so cute! Daddy loves you both so very much!" Tamaki flew up to us and enveloped us both into a big hug with him. He was way too excitable.

* * *

The next day, we all stayed after the club ended so we could help Haruhi with her dance lessons. Kanako worked as Haruhi's dance instructor, much to Tamaki's avail. He wanted to train her, yet it would be impractical for them to dance together based on height alone. Besides, I doubted Tamaki even knew how to dance the women's parts. I played various waltzes for them using sheet music given to me by Kyoya, who claimed to have hired a full orchestra to play with me during the actual event. When the lessons started, Haruhi was awkward and rhythmless, but quickly improved over time.

"Ah!" Haruhi exclaimed, tripping over herself and falling down on top of Kanako, "I'm so sorry Kasugazaki-san!" I stopped playing immediately, turning to watch it all happen.

"That's alright, Haruhi-kun," Kanako smiled calmly and wrapped her arms around Haruhi's neck. The two girls laid there, staring into each other's eyes for a brief moment.

I cleared my throat loudly, making them both look at me, "Um, I'd say that's a pretty good place to stop for today." It was making me uncomfortable; Haruhi didn't seem like she knew what to do and Kanako just looked like she wanted to bust a move on the poor girl. And the guys all were cluelessly staring from the sidelines as if each of them were hoping for something interesting to happen.

Haruhi quickly stood to her feet and held a hand out for Kanako as well, "I'm sorry again, Kasugazaki-san. Would you like some tea before you go?"

Kanako grabbed Haruhi's hand and held onto it, smiling widely at Haruhi, "That would be delightful, Haruhi-kun." The girls walked out of the room together, holding hands, and the guys all followed behind them awkwardly.

I stayed in the room, turning to face the piano again. I should probably practice some more since the dance was already a week away. Yet, I was entirely unable to focus on the music. Even while playing for Haruhi's lessons, I felt like I was in a separate room entirely. I was stuck thinking about my childhood and my mother.

"Amira! Come here, sweetheart!" My mother called out to me from her practice room. I looked over at my dad, who shrugged.

"Race ya!" I grinned at him wildly. He threw his head up and laughed into the air, then counted down for us to race.

"3… 2… 1… Go!" He shouted, and we both took off. The room was right down the hall, but I ran as fast as my five-year-old legs could possibly carry me. My dad trailed close behind me, laughing the entire way.

"Mom! I won!" I giggled, slamming to a stop right beside her bench. The practice room was a small square room, containing only her favorite grand piano.

"Oh, baby, I'm so proud of you," She smiled down at me, running a hand through my hair lovingly, "Tell me if you recognize this song, love," She turned back to the piano and placed her hands on the keys. She began playing a song, quickly at first. My father and I stood together for a moment, both listening intently. The introduction faded out to a familiar tune: the Sleeping Beauty Waltz by Tchaikovsky, which I recognized from one of my favorite Disney movies.

"Ah!" I squealed excitedly, "It's Sleeping Beauty!" I jumped up and down and turned to face my dad.

He laughed a little, then kneeled down to reach my level and held out one hand to me, "May I have this dance?" My eyes widened as I met his, then I nodded excitedly and took his hand. He stood up and took both of my hands, beckoning for me to step onto his feet. I stepped up and we swayed together, as he walked to spin us around. My mom laughed happily as she turned to watch us for a moment over her shoulder. My dad smiled down at me the whole time, laughing on occasion as I struggled to keep my footing on top of his feet.

After she passed away, my dad spent the majority of his time in the room, sitting on the bench with his cheek laid against the surface of the piano. I refused to step inside that room ever again, never wanting the memories to come back. Eventually, my dad got rid of the piano. One day, I came home from school and it was missing. I wasn't sure what he did with it, but I doubt I could ever handle seeing it again.

"Amira," A voice called out in front of me, bringing me back to reality. I looked up with tear-filled eyes into the amber eyes of Hikaru.

"Are you okay?" He asked, brows furrowing in concern.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," I took a deep breath, collecting myself, then realized he was alone, "Where's Kaoru?"

"How do you know I'm not Kaoru?" The concern on his expression faded to one of surprise.

"Your voice, your hair, your expression, lots of things," I waved my hand nonchalantly. It was obvious which twin was which at this point, they were clearly two completely different people.

"He's in the other room, we're all about to leave and we wanted to see if you were coming or staying here," He answered, still looking a little shocked. I wondered if he was being so honest because he wasn't expecting me to know who he was.

"Oh, okay. I think I might stay here for a bit if that's alright," I nodded, lowering my eyes to the floor. He took a seat next to me on the piano bench, leaning slightly against me. Our arms rested against each other and for a moment I could only focus on the warmth resonating from his body. Then he shifted away from me, turning to look at me once again.

"What were you doing all this time? I didn't hear the piano," He said softly. I looked up to meet his eyes once again and found an honest, earnest expression on his face. He genuinely wanted to know, he even seemed a little worried.

"I just… I don't know, the music brings me back. My mom loved waltzes," I signed. And she did, she preferred the romantic era of music and loved the beauty in waltzes.

"Oh," He paused for a moment, as if deep in thought, then continued, "Loved?"

"She passed away."

"Oh… I'm sorry," He said quickly, looking down at his hands.

"It's okay," We sat in silence for a moment, then I felt bad about making him feel uncomfortable, "She used to play this one song for me, it was from a movie I liked, and, anyway, my dad and I used to dance to it," I laughed quietly, "I would step on his feet and he would sway and spin us around and around while my mom played the whole time."

"What song is it?" He asked, looking back up at me. Once again, a surprisingly earnest expression was on his face, as if he actually cared about me.

"It's called the Sleeping Beauty Waltz, it's by Tchaikovsky," I answered plainly. To my surprise, he pulled out his phone immediately.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, turning to look at his phone screen.

"I want to hear it," He said plainly, finding a recording of the song. I hadn't listened to this song in years and was slightly nervous to hear it again after all this time. He pressed play and set his phone down on the bench between us and we both sat and listened for a moment. I closed my eyes and let the memories take over again.

All of a sudden, I felt a rush of air beside me and opened my eyes to see Hikaru stand up quickly and walk in front of me with his hand outstretched.

"Do you want to dance?" He asked, his cheeks slightly pink. I must've looked bewildered, because he quickly said, "We don't have to," And set his hand down.

I stood up and grabbed his hand, "No, we can." He smiled a little and led me over to the middle of the room, where he put his opposite arm around my waist.

"Don't step on my feet, please," He whispered into my ear and gave me a cheeky grin. I rolled my eyes at him and focused on my footsteps. I had waltzed before at events my mother performed at, but it had been years ago. Eventually, I got into a groove and was actually able to enjoy the dance. He spun me around and we both laughed in delight and continued dancing around the room.

"Hey, Hikaru?" Kaoru called out, appearing at the doorstep. He stopped immediately, making both of us freeze and drop our hands from each other. "Are you ready to go?" He already seemed unfazed by what he had walked in on, as though he had almost been expecting it.

"Y-yeah, let's go," Hikaru quickly recovered, walking over to grab his phone from the bench.

"I'll go, too, I guess, I don't really want to practice more today," I mumbled, picking up my backpack from the corner of the room.

"Do you even need to practice more in general? You already sound so good," Kaoru smiled at me.

"Of course I do! Did you even hear my solo during the Blue Danube?" I grumbled.

"I don't even know what that is, but I'm sure it was fine," Kaoru laughed.

"Dedicate a song to us, Ami-chan!" Hikaru smirked at me, knowing their nickname for me was absolutely infuriating. He had already resorted back to his usual ways, making me question my own sanity for a moment. How do you go from waltzing with someone to teasing them endlessly again?

"No. I'm going home," I stated, walking out of the room. The twins laughed in unison behind me, following me out.

* * *

I gazed at my appearance in the mirror. I had on an emerald, strapless ballgown for the event tonight. Its sweetheart neckline perfectly framed my curves and it tugged in at the waist, then spilled out into sparkly tulle. My normally straight burgundy hair was pinned up into a high updo with a few curls falling down and framing my face. I had dark eye makeup on, making my eyes look a little larger, and a deep red lipstick on, which popped against my pale skin. A strapless gown was a must when performing, as I needed to have my arms free to play the piano. Ever since my first performance when I was 6, I've always felt that sleeves restricted me and messed me up as a pianist.

"What are you all dressed up for?" My step-brother, Riku, asked. My step-mother, Tomoko, had him when she went to medical school in America. He was only 9, so while he did go to Ouran Elementary School, he had no idea about the host club or any of the activities I'm in.

"It's a school dance," I answered plainly. My dad wanted me to quit piano ever since my mom passed since it reminded him too much of her. For all he knew, I did. I wasn't going to let Riku ruin that by letting it slip one night.

"Can I come?" He asked, puckering out his bottom lip.

"Why would you want to? There are no video games there, and there's going to be boring classical music, which you hate." I smirked at him. Even though he wasn't _really_ my brother, I still loved the kid.

"Ewww! Why are you going then?" He frowned, sticking out his tongue in disgust.

"I like classical music, remember?" I laughed.

"Amira-san, Riku-kun," A maid knocked on the door, making both of us turn around and gaze at her, "Dinner is ready,"

"Tell dad we'll be down in a moment," I nodded to her, taking one last look in the mirror.

"You look like a princess," Riku gaped at me, meeting my eyes in the mirror.

"You really think so?" I smiled at him, feeling a blush creep to my cheeks.

"No. You're my sister, you're gross," He giggled and ran out of my room. I rolled my eyes and followed him through the house to our dining room, where Tomoko and my father were already seated. They both looked up and stared at me. Well, for Tomoko, it was more of a glare. For whatever reason, that woman hated my guts.

"Amira, you look lovely," My dad grinned at me, standing up to give me a hug.

"Thank you," I hugged him quickly, "Can I be excused from dinner tonight? I have a school dance tonight and they'll be serving us there."

"What? Why didn't you tell me you had a dance already?" My father asked softly, looking slightly hurt.

"I've just been busy, I wasn't even planning on going until this week," I mumbled, looking down at my feet.

"If you don't tell us where you're going ahead of time, you're not allowed to go, and that's that," Tomoko snapped at me. See? She hates me.

I gasped and looked up at my dad, "Dad… Please? It's really important to me, I just want to make friends here,"

He looked back and forth from his wife to his daughter and then shook his head, "Amira… You can go, just this once. But you need to listen to your mother and respect her wishes. Tell us in advance, please," He begged.

"My mother is dead," I stated darkly, "Thanks, dad." I spun and walked out of the room before I could see any of their reactions. Tomoko would _never_ be a mother to me. She would always just be Tomoko, no matter how hard they tried to push it on me.

* * *

"My little lambs, who have gathered here tonight, Ouran Host Club bids you a fair welcome to this dance tonight!" Tamaki announced dramatically. That was my cue. I looked up at the conductor, who raised his baton to get the orchestra's attention, then took a deep breath as he lowered it sharply, and we all began playing. I looked up at the staircase to see the hosts announce a few more things, then they all made their way down to the floor to begin dancing with guests.

The previous day, the hosts had briefed me on a plan they made. Apparently, Kanako was host-hopping because she was unwilling to be with her fiance, Toru, and was basically just avoiding him. So, the hosts decided they had to solve this. Basically, at the dance, Kanako would dance with Haruhi, then Tamaki would interfere and steal Kanako away while the twins and I would take Haruhi to make her look like a girl. Then, Haruhi would try to profess her love for Toru, who would then reject her. Meanwhile, Tamaki will have led Kanako over to the room where Haruhi and Toru were interacting, so she would see Toru rejecting Haruhi and thus realize she was in love with him. …the plan was really far-fetched. There was no way it would work out.

Anyways, I was doing my role in the plan perfectly. Lay low and play piano until the twins got me and told me everything was ready. The performance was going smoothly, I hadn't hit any incorrect notes yet and the orchestra sounded lovely. However, as soon as one of the songs ended, a man appeared beside me holding a folder of music.

"Um, hi?" I set my hands down on my lap and looked at him quizzically.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed my shoulder, "It's time!" I turned to face the twins who ushered me out onto the dancefloor as the random man took my seat at the piano. Then it hit me. He was my replacement for the rest of the night.

"Ami-chan, Haruhi is dancing with Princess Kasuga already," Hikaru whispered to me.

"Everything is going to plan, wait here," Kaoru whispered from my other side, then both boys sprinted out onto the dancefloor to grab Haruhi, then sprinted back with her between their arms.

"Let's go!" the boys said in unison and dragged Haruhi out of the room to a changing room. I rolled my eyes and followed closely behind. Once we got to the room, the other hosts besides Tamaki were waiting for us there.

"Haru-chan, Haru-chan! Put on these!" Honey squealed, thrusting a pale pink dress and a wig into her hands.

"Hurry up! Get changed!" The twins shoved Haruhi through the curtain, then closed it behind her.

"So, remind me again why Haruhi had to be the one to get dressed up instead of just having me do it," I crossed my arms and glanced at each host.

"Exactly!" Haruhi yelled from the other side of the curtain.

"It's the king's wishes," Hikaru shrugged.

"I wouldn't argue with him if I were you," Kaoru mimicked his twin's gesture. Eventually, Haruhi came out of the dressing room and sat down beside a table so I could start working on her makeup.

"Suzushima-kun is already waiting for you in an adjoining room," Kyoya stated, staring at my hands as I worked to brush blush onto Haruhi's cheeks.

"Gracefully ask him what his feelings are!" Honey suggested, gaping up at us.

"Since this is his highness's strategy, there's something unsettling about it," The twins said in unison, watching closely behind me.

"Yeah, this isn't going to work. Anyways, what color lipstick?" I asked, holding up two tubes. Just then, the doors burst open to reveal a frustrated Tamaki.

"Hey! What's the big idea, having everyone in here? Who's looking after our guests?" He demanded. Haruhi stood up and turned around to face him, rendering him speechless.

"I guess no lipstick then," I laughed, "What do you think?" I turned to face Tamaki, smirking at the blush that was slowly creeping onto his face.

"Haru-chan! You look so cute!" Honey squealed, as she slowly walked over to meet Tamaki at the door.

"My face feels heavy, and it's hard to walk in these shoes," She grumbled and turned to glare at me.

"Welcome to being a girl," I shrugged, happy with my handiwork.

"I'm fine with being a guy! I already miss it!" She snapped, walking out of the room down the hall.

"Don't say that, Haruhi!" Tamaki moaned, and I prayed that he wouldn't start crying like usual.

"Good luck in there!" the twins shouted at her, waving dramatically.

"She's just too cute…" Tamaki whimpered, face reddening once again.

"So that's why you made her go and not me," I mumbled, rolling my eyes at him.

* * *

The hosts and I made our way back to the dancefloor, and Tamaki left us to go find Kanako. Honey and Mori went to go dance together right away, and Kyoya was asked by a guest to dance, leaving me alone with the twins.

"Hey, I'll be right back," Kaoru smiled and look at Hikaru with a devilish glint in my eye. I felt my stomach drop when I realized they were up to something, but couldn't follow Kaoru through the dancefloor as he weaved his way through girls.

"What's going on?" I demanded, turning at Hikaru.

"You'll see, Ami-chan," He smirked at me. I felt my stomach drop, already dreading whatever was in store. Suddenly, the orchestra faded out in the middle of the song they were currently on, leaving dancers standing awkwardly on the floor. Then, they cut in to a familiar tune. The Sleeping Beauty Waltz. I turned to look at Hikaru, knowing he and Kaoru somehow planned this, only to see that he had taken a knee and was holding a hand up to me.

"May I have this dance? We never got a chance to finish our first one, and Kaoru felt bad," He smiled up at me, much less insecure of himself.

"Y-yeah, of course," I sputtered, taking his hand and helping him up. He placed an arm around my waist and spun me around on the dance floor.

He leaned into me and whispered, "I forgot to mention earlier that you look really nice tonight,"

"Thank you," I mumbled, blushing profusely, "You clean up pretty nice, too," I was trying but failing to keep my cool. It's not every day that I get to dance with an extremely handsome guy. Yet, he didn't even seem to notice and just chuckled and continued to dance. We finished the dance in silence, and both bowed at each other.

"Thank you for that. I know you said waltzes reminded you of your mother and made you a little sad, so I wanted to make sure you were doing okay tonight," Hikaru smiled kindly at me, "I wanted to make sure you were happy and get you to smile."

Before I could even say anything in response, Kaoru appeared beside us, "Ready for the last part of the plan?" He asked. I was still shocked at Hikaru's statement, and was at a loss for words. They both stared at me blankly for a moment, then I realized they were waiting for me.

"Um, wait, what? Last part? I thought Haruhi-"

A loudspeaker interrupted me, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, this enjoyable evening of ours has at last come to its final song," Tamaki's voice rang out, and the twins grabbed my hand and rushed me over to the balcony, where the hosts were waiting for us, "The Host Club's last waltz falls upon this couple." Tamaki stood before us and gestured dramatically to Kanako and Toru. Toru kneeled and asked Kanako to dance, then stood up and began to waltz.

"Banana?" The twins asked, interrupting my thoughts by both shoving a banana in my face.

"What? No, where did those even come from?" I shook my head, extremely confused. They both shrugged and unpeeled the bananas and began eating them. I looked back down to the happy couple and smiled sweetly, hoping one day to find a love as pure as theirs.

"May this awkward couple be blessed!" Tamaki declared, spreading his arms out wide. The twins both scarfed down the rest of their banana peels and pulled out microphones.

Kaoru ran over to Tamaki's side, "Tonight's dance queen,"

Hikaru mirrored his action, "Is hereby declared to be Princess Kasugazaki Kanako!" The audience erupted into a grand cheer, but I could only focus on the twins as they threw their banana peels when no one was looking.

"Now then, the blessed kiss from the king-" They said in unison.

"I'm on," Tamaki gave a flirtatious smile, interrupting them.

"...has been switched to Fujioka Haruhi!" The twins finished.

"WHAT?" Tamaki and Haruhi both shouted. I burst out laughing, now _this_ was going to piss Tamaki off.

"Kyoya-senpai said that having an 'accident' happen at the end would be more thrilling!" The twins replied coolly. Toru put his arm around Kanako and whispered something to her, probably giving permission, and she walked forward towards Haruhi.

"Of all the things to put me through…" Haruhi grumbled beside me.

"We'll cut your debt by one-third," Kyoya stated without looking at her.

"Well, if it's just a peck on the cheek," She mumbled, walking down the staircase to meet Kanako.

"Say, by any chance, could this be Haru-chan's first kiss?" Honey asked, making Tamaki spring to action.

"What?!" He leaped forward, reaching out toward Haruhi. However, he slipped on the twins' banana peels and ended up tripping and pushing Haruhi into Kanako. The intended kiss on the cheek escalated to a kiss on the lips, and the crowd roared with excitement. The twins burst out laughing beside me.

"By 'accident', you guys meant this, right? Not her and Tamaki-senpai switching roles?" I asked the twins, smirking slightly. It _was_ kind of entertaining, I had to admit.

"Hahah, no, this was completely just an accident," Hikaru laughed, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Definitely not at all intentional, I don't even know how those peels got there!" Kaoru laughed beside him, holding his belly. I looked over at the rest of the hosts, who all held bemused expressions and realized they must have planned this out, too. I guess the host club wasn't so bad; they were pretty entertaining, after all.

* * *

A/N: Wow that was long… It took a lot more time than I thought it would. I wanted to build on Hikaru and Amira's budding relationship and also begin introducing her family and her past. It's all going to be really important throughout the story. As always, love you guys! Please leave me reviews with whatcha think! 3


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